Written Comments of the European Roma Rights Center
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EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTER 1386 Budapest 62, P.O. Box 906/93, Hungary Phone: (36-1) 413-2200; Fax: (36-1) 413-2201 E-mail: [email protected] http://errc.org July 30, 2004 WRITTEN COMMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTER CONCERNING THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AT ITS 65th SESSION, AUGUST 2-20, 2004 Executive Summary The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) respectfully submits written comments concerning the Slovak Republic for consideration by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“the Committee”) at its 65th session. The ERRC is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma, in particular strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and policy development, and training of Romani activists. Since its establishment in 1996, the ERRC has established a reputation as the leading international non-governmental organisation engaged in human rights defence of Roma in Europe. The ERRC has undertaken extensive research, policy, law and training work in Slovakia due to the very serious issues Roma face in Slovakia. ERRC publications about Slovakia, as well as additional information about the organisation are available on the Internet at http://www.errc.org. The ERRC is aware of the contents of the Slovak government's fifth periodic report to the CERD,1 as well as other recent Slovak government policy documents of relevance to Roma. We welcome the fact of increasing attention by the Slovak government to policy matters as they relate to Roma. To date, however, measures adopted and undertaken by the Slovak government have been insufficient to ensure the effective implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ("Convention"). 1 CERD/C/419/Add.2 As to Article 2, the government has not fully complied with its obligations to “prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means, including legislation […] racial discrimination.” Slovak parliament ratified on May 20, 2004, a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, and it entered into force on July 1, 2004. It is too soon to know whether the recently adopted law will in practice ensure that all individuals have access to justice when suffering the serious harm of racial discrimination. In light of how recently the new law was adopted, this submission will not attempt to speculate as to whether the law will finally remedy the long-term void of effective legal protections available in Slovakia to victims of racial discrimination. It is however of concern that on July 2, 2004, one day after the law entered into effect, a judge of the Bratislava IVth District court dismissed a discrimination complaint in a housing eviction case. It is also worrying that the Slovak Minister of Justice has stated that he will file challenges to the legality of certain provisions of the adopted law. In practice, Roma in Slovakia are regularly subjected to discrimination in almost all aspects of their life, from interaction with law-enforcement authorities and the judiciary to the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights. As to Article 3 of the Convention, the ERRC is concerned that the government of the Slovak Republic has failed to prevent, prohibit and eradicate the racial segregation of Roma. This is especially evident in the field of education, where officials consistently deny equal access to Romani children, placing them in alarming numbers in segregated, substandard schools and classes. In addition to the inherent harms flowing from this practice, the racial segregation of Romani children in the Slovak school system virtually ensures that Roma will remain, for the foreseeable future, a systemically excluded underclass. Additionally, a large number of Roma live in a state of complete physical separation from mainstream society, in slum settlements segregated from the rest of the population and characterised by substandard conditions such as lack of basic infrastructure and facilities such as sanitation, drinking water, or electricity. As to Article 4, anti-Romani hate speech is a regular part of public discourse in Slovakia. Anti- Romani statements are a standard and often unquestioned part of public life in Slovakia, and officials as high-ranking as the Prime Minister have made anti-Romani statements. Provisions of the criminal code sanctioning hate speech have rarely if ever been applied in cases where Roma are at issue. A new draft criminal code, currently before Slovak parliament, would remove some legal protections against hate speech, if adopted in its present proposed form. As to Article 5, Roma have, in recent years, suffered violence at the hands of both law enforcement and non-state actors, in violation of “the right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm” protected under the Convention. In several recent cases, Roma have been killed by Slovak police officers while in police custody. Furthermore, authorities continue to fail to provide Roma with adequate protection against racially motivated violence perpetrated by members and sympathisers of nationalist-extremist movements and other vigilante groups. In addition, research by independent human rights groups including the ERRC has revealed that Romani women have in recent years been subjected to coercive sterilisation in Slovak hospitals. The ERRC and its partner organisations have documented violations of the rights of Roma to be free from discrimination in the exercise of economic and social rights, as protected by Article 5. Roma in the Slovak Republic suffer discrimination in the fields of employment, housing, health care, and access to social assistance and social welfare benefits. As the substance of this submission makes clear, the Convention's Article 6 guarantee that "States Parties shall assure to everyone within their jurisdiction effective protection and remedies, through the competent national tribunals and other State institutions, against any acts of racial discrimination which violate his human rights and fundamental freedoms contrary to this Convention, as well as the right to seek from such tribunals just and adequate reparation or satisfaction for any damage suffered as a result of such discrimination" currently rings hollow for Roma in Slovakia. In 2004, there is near total impunity for racial discrimination against Roma, as well as for those who would frustrate Roma in their efforts to realise the Convention's substantive provisions. Furthermore, there are persistent threats to human rights defenders working on racism issues in Slovakia. Official threats of criminal charges against Roma rights activists in relation to their work raises serious concerns about the government’s commitment to its obligations under Article 7 of the Convention to adopt immediate and effective measures to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among various ethnic groups and to propagate the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Convention itself. A new draft criminal code, currently before Slovak parliament, includes proposals for provisions on "defaming a public official" which, if adopted into law, would potentially make possible criminal prosecution of individuals for public criticism of authorities, and would perpetuate the current "chill" prevalent in Slovak public life due to the existence of similar provisions in the current Slovak criminal code. The present document does not aim to address all issues Roma face in Slovakia of relevance to the Convention. The sole ambition of this submission is to present the results of ERRC research in several areas of relevance to the Convention, with the aim of complementing the information provided in the Slovak government's report to the Committee. Following a general introduction, the present submission presents concerns in the following areas: z Anti-Romani Expression in Slovakia z Anti-Discrimination Law and Policy z Violence z Coercive Sterilisation of Romani Women z Medical Care, Social Security and Social Services z Education z Housing z Issues Related to the Provision of/Possession of Residence Permits z Discrimination in Access to Public Accommodation z Ethnic Statistical Data z Human Rights Defenders The submission concludes with some rudimentary recommendations for the Slovak government, intended to assist the Committee in bringing concluding observations with respect to Slovakia's compliance with the ICERD. General Introduction: Human Rights Emergency of Roma in Slovakia On the evening of Tuesday February 24, 2004, the Slovak government ordered the largest mobilisation of its armed forces since 1989, in order to address the problem of spreading unrest among Roma in a number of communities in central and eastern Slovakia. Although figures varied according to reports, on the territories of Kosice, Presov and Banska-Bystrica Counties, approximately 1600 police officers and 650 members of the army had been mobilised, with a further 350 soldiers put on active alert. Minister of the Interior Vladimir Palko was quoted by domestic media as having stated on the evening of February 24, "All police officers have had holidays suspended until further notice. At issue is the largest engagement of police forces since 1989. [...] Yesterday for the first time since 1989 water cannons were deployed and